Theft of radios and tape recorders and players from vehicles has long posed a problem to many vehicle owners. Such thefts continue to increase, and the problems has been even more pronounced and of more concern of late with the growing popularity of the CB radio among vehicle owners. The magnitude of the problem is illustrated by recent information suggesting that many insurance Companies that insure against theft from vehicles of such accessory are considering dropping such protection from their insurance policies.
One of the most practical and effective approaches to eliminating theft of such accessories or options from vehicles is to remove the particular accessory or option from its normal operating position within the vehicle when the same is left unattended. Once removed, the accessory or option may be locked in the vehicle trunk, or simply removed totally from the vehicle while the same is left unattended. To accommodate removal of such accessories, it is known to provide a mounting structure for the dashboard of a vehicle wherein a particular accessory such as a AM-FM radio or recorder can be readily mounted and dismounted from the mounting structure. In providing for such a mounting structure, it is important that such be readily adaptable to a particular vehicle involved, that the mounting structure enable the accessory to be quickly and conveniently mounted and dismounted without involving significant time and trouble, and also that the main mounting structure provide a strong and sturdy support for the accessory while in operation in the vehicle.
As stated above, such mounting structures have been provided for vehicle dashboards and generaly such allows an accessory such as a radio or tape player to be readily removed therefrom. But a close study of the design of such quick mount and dismount dashboard mounting structures reveals that in many instances the mounting structure itself has been difficult to mount to the vehicle's dashboard, and this particular problem is in some cases complicated further by the fact that the particular mounting structure is adapted to mount only to a limited member of dashboard designs. In addition, it has been found that many such mounting structures for radios, tape players or the like that provide for routine mounting and dismounting involve tedious and cumbersome work to remove the particular accessory from the mounting structure involved. Moreover, in certain cases, it is found that once the accessory is secured within the mounting structure it is in a place that is awkward or undesirable and difficult to reach to adjust the controls in accordance with the desired performance of the accessory.